Both IGT and Type 2 diabetes are characterized by insulin resistance. They are parts of a major risk factor complex called the Insulin Resistance Syndrome (IRS). Individuals suffering from IGT or Type 2 diabetes exhibit important changes in diurnal insulin sensitivity, with an enhanced insulin resistance, and in Type 2 diabetes an increased endogenous glucose production at dawn, 4-9 AM. The first meal of the day, usually breakfast, produces a rapid switch from glucose production to glucose utilization. This event takes place under relative hypoinsulinemic conditions in diabetic patients. Both subjects with IGT and Type 2 diabetic patients have decreased carbohydrate tolerance at breakfast. This is also the case with Type 1 diabetic patients, but their postprandial hyperglycemia may be alleviated by an increased dose of exogenous insulin, However, in Type 2 diabetes, where the blood glucose is usually not well controlled by either endogenous or exogenous insulin, a sustained glucose production leads to an accentuated hyperglycemia at breakfast. The elevated nocturnal levels of free fatty acids (FFA) in Type 2 diabetic patients are probably involved in causing the fasting and postprandial hyperglycemia, since breakfast glucose tolerance is improved by FFA suppression using an antilipolytic agent, such as acipimox,
Quite generally, it is known in the art to treat diabetic patients to diminish fluctuations in blood sugar levels and prevent hypoglycemic episodes using slowly absorbed or digested complex carbohydrates, such as natural cornstarch, Thus, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,605,893 and 5,843,921 to Francine Kaufman are examples of prior art where therapeutic food compositions containing uncooked cornstarch are used in methods of treating diabetic patients. However, the state of the art does not even remotely suggest the use of slow release carbohydrates for improving glucose tolerance in humans suffering from such impaired glucose tolerance prior to or as part of disease in diabetes Mellitus Type 2.